Network function virtualization requirements to service a long term evolution (lte) network

ABSTRACT

A Mobility Management Entity (MME) controls Network Function Virtualization (NFV) data communications for User Equipment (UE). The MME receives S1-MME signaling having Non-Access Stratum (NAS) data that indicates an enhanced NFV requirement. The MME selects a data network element to serve the UE with the data communications based on the enhanced NFV requirement. The MME transfers S1-MME signaling having NAS data for the UE that acknowledges the enhanced NFV requirement. The MME transfers network signaling that directs the data network element to serve the UE with the data communications based on the enhanced NFV requirement.

RELATED CASES

This patent application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 14/722,418 that was filed on May 27, 2015 and is entitled“NETWORK FUNCTION VIRTUALIZATION REQUIREMENTS TO SERVICE A LONG TERMEVOLUTION (LTE) NETWORK.” U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/722,418 ishereby incorporated by reference into this patent application.

TECHNICAL BACKGROUND

Internet Protocol (IP) communication systems transfer IP packets amonguser devices and intelligent machines to provide data communicationservices like internet access, file transfers, media streaming, and usermessaging. The IP communication systems are implementing severaltechnologies in a contemporaneous manner to improve service delivery.These technologies include systems for Hardware Root of Trust (HRoT) andNetwork Function Virtualization (NFV) to improve service quality.

NFV servers process virtual machines that operate as communicationnetwork elements such as gateways, controllers, databases, and the like.The NFV servers exchange data packets with other network elements likeEthernet switches and IP routers to support data services like mobileinternet access, user messaging, and media transfers. The NFV serversimplement hypervisors and context switching to operate in a time-slicedmanner. The NFV servers typically separate different virtual networksand/or services in the different NFV time slices.

Protected data systems may be accessed by user devices over wirelesscommunication networks, such as Wireless Fidelity (WIFI) and Long TermEvolution (LTE) networks. Different protected data systems may bededicated to specific networks elements. Thus, Virtual Private Networks(VPNs) are typically deployed for protected data systems using specificNFV hardware components, such as data center sites, server blades,central processing units (CPUs), cores, time slices, memories,transceivers, and the like. Therefore, a user device may be required toconnect to a trusted network using private NFV requirements beforeexchanging data with a protected data system. Unfortunately, there isnot an effective or efficient method for the user device to determine ifa network can service NFV requirements.

TECHNICAL OVERVIEW

A Mobility Management Entity (MME) controls Network FunctionVirtualization (NFV) data communications for User Equipment (UE). TheMME receives S1-MME signaling having Non-Access Stratum (NAS) data thatindicates an enhanced NFV requirement. The MME selects a data networkelement to serve the UE with the data communications based on theenhanced NFV requirement. The MME transfers S1-MME signaling having NASdata for the UE that acknowledges the enhanced NFV requirement. The MMEtransfers network signaling that directs the data network element toserve the UE with the data communications based on the enhanced NFVrequirement.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1-3 illustrate a Long Term Evolution (LTE) communication system100 to determine if an LTE network can service Network FunctionVirtualization (NFV) requirements for a User Equipment (UE).

FIGS. 4-5 illustrate an LTE communication system to determine if an LTEnetwork can service NFV requirements for a UE.

FIGS. 6-7 illustrate an NFV communication system to determine if an LTEnetwork can service NFV requirements for a UE.

FIG. 8 illustrates an LTE UE to determine if an LTE network can serviceNFV requirements for the UE.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1-3 illustrate communication system 100 to determine if Long TermEvolution (LTE) network 120 can service Network Function Virtualization(NFV) requirements for User Equipment (UE) 101. LTE communication system100 includes UE 101, LTE network 120, wireless communication links130-131, and external communication systems. UE 101 includes dataprocessing system 110 and wireless communication transceiver 112. UE 101and LTE network 120 communicate over wireless communication link 130.LTE network 120 and external communication systems communicate overwireless communication link 131.

UE 101 could be a phone, tablet computer, media device, or some otherapparatus having a wireless LTE transceiver. UE 101 includes processingcircuitry and memory that store and execute various software modules. UE101 comprises communication transceivers, such as antennas, ports, businterfaces, signal processors, memory, and software.

Data processing system 110 may include general purpose centralprocessing units, microprocessors, application specific processors,logic devices, and any other type of processing device. Wirelesscommunication transceiver 112 comprises communication components, suchas antennas, ports, amplifiers, filters, modulators, signal processors,and the like.

LTE network 120 transfers data between UE 101 and external communicationsystems, such as Internet, virtual networks, protected data systems, andother external systems. LTE network 120 comprises network elements, suchas access nodes, management nodes, gateway systems, or other datacommunication network elements—including combinations thereof. LTEnetwork 120 may also include other components, such as a router, server,data storage system, and power supply. LTE network 120 may reside in asingle device or may be distributed across multiple devices.

In operation, UE 101 determines an enhanced communication requirement.The enhanced communication requirement may be detected by an applicationoperating on UE 101. In particular, an enhanced communicationrequirement would typically be an alert to UE 101 that UE 101 mustattach to trusted LTE network 120 before connecting to or exchanginginformation with a protected database system. For example, UE 101 may berequired to attach to LTE network 120 before seeing medical records orpatient billing information from a healthcare database. Another examplewould be UE 101 logging into a bank webpage which requires UE 101 toattach to LTE network 120 before entering a secure pin code or password.

UE 101 may also determine an enhanced communication requirement based onthe location of UE 101, or based on the increased signal strength of LTEnetwork 120 or decreased signal strength of the network UE 101 iscurrently attached to. For example, as UE 101 moves closer to a place ofemployment requiring use of LTE network 120, and further from home wherethe employee may use a Wireless Fidelity (WIFI) network, UE 101 woulddetermine to switch from the WIFI network to LTE network 120. UE 101 mayalso determine an enhanced communication requirement based ontime-of-day, such as using LTE network 120 during normal working hoursor times that the user of UE 101 is on call or working a shift. Forexample, a corporate employee may be required to use trusted LTE network120 to see private corporate information on a corporate database systemduring working hours. It should be noted that other enhancedcommunication requirements could be used to trigger the need forattachment to trusted LTE network 120.

In response to UE 101 determining an enhanced communication requirement,UE 101 determines one or more NFV requirements for LTE network 120. TheNFV requirements may be determined based on programmed instructions inUE 101, based on a requirement for LTE attachment from a database orserver system, or some other indication for UE 101.

NFV requirements typically include trusted data centers, servers, serverblades, central processing units (CPUs), cores, time slices, datamemories, transceivers, and other NFV associated trusted hardwareelements. For example, a corporate employee data system may require UE101 to attach to trusted LTE network 120 using data center 4, serverblade 1, and port 23. NFV requirements may also include NetworkIdentifiers (NIDs), carrier frequencies, subcarrier frequencies orchannels, Access Point Names (APNs), and LTE network elements such asevolved NodeBs (eNodeBs), Packet Data Network Gateways (P-GWs), ServingGateways (S-GWs), Mobility Management Entities (MMEs), or other networkelements—including combinations thereof. For example, a mobile banklogin on an application of UE 101 may require UE 101 to attach totrusted LTE network 120 using a private eNodeB, P-GW, and MME. NFVrequirements could also be requirements for the eNodeB to implement,such as enabling or disabling LTE Carrier Aggregation (CA) orMultiple-Input and Multiple-Output (MIMO).

In a next operation, UE 101 wirelessly attaches to LTE network 120. Inresponse, UE 101 wirelessly transfers a first Non-Access Stratum (NAS)file indicating the NFV requirements to LTE network 120. In particular,UE 101 detects an eNodeB base station and responsively exchanges RadioResource Configuration (RRC) signaling with the eNodeB. The eNodeB thentransfers an S1-Application Protocol (S1-AP) message to a MobilityManagement Entity (MME). The S1-AP message contains the NAS fileindicating the NFV requirements.

The MME would then typically transfer a Diameter request message to aHome Subscriber System (HSS) which processes data for UE 101 andinformation in the first NAS file indicating the NFV requirements. TheHSS may process information relating to subscriber profiles, userauthorization, and subscriber location and IP information. The HSS wouldthen transfer a Diameter response to the MME indicating the data andfirst NAS file information. For example, the MME may send a requestmessage containing the NAS file to the HSS and the HSS may process thedata for UE 101 to select an APN and transfer a Diameter response to theMME indicating the APN and associated APN information.

The MME could then process the APN and associated APN information todetermine if the NFV required eNodeB, a P-GW, and a carrier frequencyare implemented. This information would then be sent to the P-GW via theS-GW to generate an S5 General Packet Radio Service Transfer Protocol(GTP) message indicating the IP address for UE 101 which is then sentback to the MME via the S-GW. The MME processes this information togenerate and transfer an S1-AP message to the eNodeB indicating IPaddress and other UE associated information. The eNodeB would thengenerate and transfer an RRC message to UE 101 indicating the IPaddress, default bearer, and NAS information.

In a next operation, UE 101 receives and processes a second NAS filefrom LTE network 120 to determine if LTE network 120 can service the NFVrequirements. If LTE network 120 can service the NFV requirements, thenUE 101 wirelessly exchanges data over LTE network 120. For example, ifUE 101 indicated in the first NAS file that attachment to trusted LTEnetwork 120 for a corporation required use of private data center 4,server blade 1, and port 23, and the second NAS file indicated that theLTE network was able to use those NFV requirements, then UE 101 would beable exchange data with the corporate employee data system over LTEnetwork 120. However, if the second NAS file indicated that the LTEnetwork was only able to use port 24 and not port 23 as required for LTEnetwork 120, then UE 101 would be denied access to the corporate datasystem. This ensures that protected or confidential information is notseen or exchanged unless UE 101 is attached to trusted LTE network 120over the required NFV elements.

In some examples, UE 101 transfers an establishment cause indicatingthat the NAS file will indicate the NFV requirements. The establishmentcause is typically transferred in the RRC message which may be processedin the eNodeB. In particular, the establishment cause would notgenerally contain enough data to indicate the NFV requirements, but maybe able to indicate that the NAS file will contain NFV requirements forLTE attachment. For example, the establishment cause may use a code tonotify the MME that a NAS file will be transferred and contains NFVrequirements for the MME to use for LTE attachment.

In some examples, the NFV requirements indicate an NFV APN, and UE 101wirelessly exchanges the data using the NFV APN. In particular, the APNidentifies the packet data network (PDN) and defines a type of service.In this example, the APN could also be used to tell an MME requirementsfor the eNodeB, P-GW, S-GW, carrier frequency, subcarrier frequency, andother NFV requirement information for LTE network 120.

In some examples, the NFV requirements indicate an NFV data center. Forexample, the NFV requirement may require LTE attachment using datacenter 8, a data center at the same site as a protected data system, ora data center in the United States. In other examples, the NFVrequirements indicate an NFV server blade and UE 101 wirelesslyexchanges the data using the NFV server blade. For example, the NFVrequirement may require LTE attachment using server blade A-1 on server6. The server blade may be determined and located by a hypervisor on avirtual machine using the APN.

In some examples, the NFV requirements indicate an NFV time slice and UE101 wirelessly exchanges the data using the NFV time slice. The NFV timeslice is the period of time a process is allowed to run in a preemptivemultitasking system. For example, a scheduler may be run for a differentprocess in each time slice with an interrupt scheduled in betweenprocesses to allow the kernel to clear the NFV system and switch to thenext process. In other examples, the NFV requirements indicate an NFVmemory block and UE 101 wirelessly exchanges the data using the NFVmemory block.

In some examples, UE 101 determines at least one trusted LTE eNodeB. Inparticular, the trusted eNodeB may be selected based on priorprogramming in UE 101, based on an APN in a NAS file, or based on aspecific NFV requirement in the NAS file. The eNodeB may be specificallyrequired or selected from a set of trusted eNodeBs. The eNodeB may belocated in an NFV server for the protected data system in LTE network120, in another NFV server that communicates with the NFV server for theprotected data system in LTE network 120, or located outside of the NFVserver. In this example, UE 101 attaches to at least one trusted LTEeNodeB responsive to the enhanced communication requirement. Forexample, UE 101 may be programmed to attach to eNodeB 1 when attachingto LTE network 120 during normal working hours.

In some examples, UE 101 determines at least one trusted LTE carrierfrequency. In this example, UE 101 attaches to LTE network 120 using theat least one trusted LTE carrier frequency responsive to the enhancedcommunication requirement. In other examples, UE 101 determines at leastone trusted LTE subcarrier frequency. In this example, UE 101 attachesto LTE network 120 using the at least one trusted LTE subcarrierfrequency responsive to the enhanced communication requirement.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating an operation of communicationsystem 100 to determine if LTE network 120 can service NFV requirementsfor UE 101. UE 101 determines (201) an enhanced communicationrequirement. In response, UE 101 determines (202) one or more NFVrequirements for LTE network 120. UE 101 wirelessly attaches (203) toLTE network 120. In response, UE 101 wirelessly transfers (204) a firstNAS file indicating the NFV requirements to LTE Network 120. UE 101receives and processes (205) a second NAS file from LTE network 120 todetermine if LTE network 120 can service the NFV requirements. If LTEnetwork 120 can service the NFV requirements, then UE 101 wirelesslyexchanges (206) data over LTE network 120.

FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram illustrating the operation of communicationsystem 100 to determine if LTE network 120 can service NFV requirementsfor UE 101. Data processing system 110 determines an enhancedcommunication requirement. In response, data processing system 110determines one or more NFV requirements for LTE network 120 and driveswireless communication transceiver 112 to wirelessly attach to LTEnetwork 120. Wireless communication transceiver 112 transfers andreceives NAS files indicating NFV requirements to and from LTE network120. Data processing system 110 then receives the NAS file transferredby wireless communication transceiver 112 from LTE network 120 and inresponse, processes the NAS file to determine if LTE network 120 canservice the NFV requirements. Data processing system 112 then directswireless communication transceiver 112 to wirelessly exchange data overLTE network 120 to external communication systems if LTE network 120 canservice the NFV requirements.

FIGS. 4-5 illustrate communication system 400 to determine if an LTEnetwork can service NFV requirements for UE. LTE communication system400 is an example of communication system 100, although communicationsystem 100 may use alternative configurations and operations.Communication system 400 includes UE 401, healthcare data system 402,LTE network 420, and Internet Service Provider (ISP) 430. UE 401 and LTEnetwork 420 communicate using eNodeB 410. UE 401 and ISP 430 communicateover WIFI network and ISP modems. LTE network 420 comprises networkelements S-GW, MME 422, HSS, P-GW 424, and PCRF. ISP 430 comprisesnetwork modems, IPS router, Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP),Domain Name System (DNS), and network router.

Referring to FIG. 5, UE 401 exchanges data with healthcare data system402 over ISP 430. For example, a patient may open a healthcare mobileapplication on a smartphone and search for public data in healthcaredata system 402, such as the medical records department hours ofoperation or a physician's telephone number.

In a next operation, UE 401 and healthcare data system 402 determine anenhanced communication requirement. For example, the patient may requestto view their medical records, pay an online bill, or update contactinformation. The enhanced communication requirement may also bedetermined by the application for UE 401 prompting the patient to entera password or secure pin.

In response, UE 401 determines NFV requirements for LTE network 420. Inthis example embodiment, the NFV requirements may be negotiated betweenUE 401 and healthcare data system 402 over ISP 430 prior to LTEattachment. NFV requirements include a trusted data center, serverblade, core, time slice, data memory, and port. NFV requirements alsoinclude NIDs, carrier frequencies, subcarrier frequencies or channels,APNs, and LTE network components such as eNodeB 410, P-GW 424, S-GW, andMME 422. In this example, NFV requirements are also that eNodeB 410 mustenable LTE CA and MIMO. If any of the NFV requirements cannot beserviced by LTE network 420, UE 401 will be denied access to the privatemedical data.

UE 401 then wirelessly attaches to LTE network 420 and transfers a NASfile indicating NFV requirements via eNodeB 410, MME 422, and P-GW 424.UE 401 and eNodeB 410 exchange RRC signaling messages with NAS filesindicating the NFV requirements. The RRC signaling message include anestablishment cause indicating that the NAS file will indicate NFVrequirements. eNodeB 410 and MME 422 exchange S1-AP signaling messageswith NAS files indicating the NFV requirements. MME 422 and P-GW 424exchange S5 or S8 signaling messages with NAS files indicating the NFVrequirements.

In response, UE 401 receives and processes a NAS file from LTE network420 to determine if LTE network 420 can service the NFV requirements. Asindicated in FIG. 5, eNodeB 410, MME 422, and P-GW 424 implement the NFVrequirements. For example, MME 422 may use the NAS file to determine atrusted P-GW and set of trusted eNodeBs and select P-GW 424 and eNodeB410 based on the NAS file indications. MME 422 can also determine whichcarrier frequency and subcarrier frequency to implement based on the NASfile indications. Although not shown in FIG. 5, MME 422 may also query adatabase containing information from NFV server system components todetermine locations of the NFV required data center, server blade, andmemory block.

If LTE network 420 can service the NFV requirements, then UE 401wirelessly exchanges data with healthcare data system 402 over LTEnetwork 420 via eNodeB 410 and P-GW 424. For example, a patient using ahealthcare data application on UE 401 will only be able to view theirmedical record and/or enter a password if their smartphone has beenproperly attached to LTE network 420 using the required APN, datacenter, server blade, core, memory, carrier frequency, subcarrierfrequency, P-GW, and a trusted eNodeB from the set of trusted eNodeBs.After the data exchange requiring trusted LTE network 420 has beencompleted, UE 401 may return to ISP 430 to wirelessly exchange data withhealthcare data system 402.

Note that healthcare data system 402 exchanges data with UE 401 only ifthe end-to-end communication path has met the NFV requirements. If LTEnetwork 420 cannot service any of the NFV requirements, the medicalrecords will not be available to UE 401 from healthcare data system 402and/or the password cannot be entered since the LTE connection is notsecure. This ensures that the confidential data in the medical recordsfrom healthcare data system 402 and passwords from UE 401 will not betransferred using non-trusted NFV components.

FIGS. 6-7 illustrate NFV communication system 600 to determine if an LTEnetwork can service NFV requirements for UE. NFV communication system600 is an example of communication systems 100 and 400, although systems100 and 400 may vary from the specific details of this example. NFVcommunication system 600 comprises UE 601, antenna system 602, and NFVserver system 603. NFV server system 603 comprises hardware 604, H) 605,NFV system 606, and LTE virtual network elements 610. Hardware 604comprises data processing circuitries, memory devices, and Input/Output(I/O) communication interfaces. Antenna system 602 and NFV server system603 communicate over communication links to exchange IP packets.

HRoT 605 comprises trust software and portions of hardware 604 tocontrol access to and provide remote hardware verification for hardware604. NFV system 606 comprises hypervisor software and portions ofhardware 604 to execute virtual network elements 610 in virtual NFV timeslices. LTE virtual network elements 610 include virtual S-GW (vS-GW)611, virtual MME (vMME) 612, virtual HSS (vHSS) 613, virtual P-GW(vP-GW) 614, and virtual Policy Charging and Rules Function (vPCRF) 615.

Antenna system 602 includes communication components, such as antennas,ports, amplifiers, filters, modulators, signal processors, and the like.Antenna system 602 also includes microprocessors and other circuitrythat retrieves and executes software from memory devices. Antenna system602 could be a base station, such as an eNodeB or virtual eNodeB totransfer communication messages between UE 601 and NFV server system 603using RRC, Radio Link Control (RLC), and the like. Antenna system 602includes transceivers that communicate using specified carrierfrequencies and subcarrier frequencies.

Referring to FIG. 7, NFV server system 701 includes a Baseband Unit(BBU) which communicates with a Remote Radio Head (RRH). The RRH and BBUcontain radio interfaces that may be connected using lossless opticalfibers. The RRH and BBU may be separated by a considerable distance toprovide system deployment flexibility. The RRH communicates with anantenna system which receives data over carrier frequencies andsubcarrier frequencies. RRH includes algorithms for digital-to-analog(D/A) and analog-to-digital (A/D) converting. The BBU contains aphysical layer which may perform computational tasks, such as FastFourier Transform (FFT) encoder and FFT decoder for time/frequencychannel coding and decoding. The BBU also contains layers for virtualRRC (vRRC), virtual Packet Data Convergence Protocol (vPDCP), virtualRLC (vRLC), and virtual Media Access Control (vMAC).

FIG. 8 illustrates UE 800 to determine if an LTE network can service NFVrequirements for the UE. UE 800 is an example of UE 101 and UE 401,although UE 101 and UE 401 may use alternative configurations andoperations. UE 800 includes user interface 801, transceiver 802, andprocessing system 803. Processing system 803 is linked to user interface801 and transceiver 802.

User interface 801 comprises components that interact with a user suchas a keyboard, display screen, microphone, touch pad, or some other userinput/output apparatus. Transceiver 802 comprises communicationcomponents, such as antennas, ports, amplifiers, filters, modulators,signal processors, and the like. Transceiver 802 wirelessly attaches toan LTE network. Transceiver 802 wirelessly transfers and receives NASfiles indicating NFV requirements for an LTE network. Transceiver 802also wirelessly exchanges data over an LTE network if the LTE networkcan service the NFV requirements.

Processing system 803 includes processing circuitry 804 and storagesystem 805 that stores software 806. Processing circuitry 804 comprisesa microprocessor and other circuitry that retrieves and executessoftware 806 from storage system 805. Storage system 805 comprises anon-transitory storage medium, such as a disk drive, flash drive, datastorage circuitry, or some other memory apparatus. Software 806comprises computer programs, firmware, or some other form ofmachine-readable processing instructions. Software 806 includes LTEnetwork module 807, enhanced communication requirement module 808, andNFV requirement module 809. Software 806 may further include anoperating system, utilities, drivers, network interfaces, applications,or some other type of software. When executed by processing circuitry804, software 806 directs processing system 803 to operate usercommunication device 800 as described herein. Processing system 803determines an enhanced communication requirement. Processing system 803determines NFV requirements for the LTE network and processes NAS filesto determine if the LTE network can service the NFV requirements.

In particular, when executed by processing circuitry 804, LTE networkmodule 807 directs processing circuitry 804 to attach to a trusted LTEnetwork. When executed by processing circuitry 804, LTE network module807 also directs processing circuitry 804 to wirelessly transfer NASfiles and receive NAS files indicating NFV requirements from the LTEnetwork. When executed by processing circuitry 804, LTE network module807 also directs processing circuitry 804 to exchange data with externalcommunication systems using an LTE network. When executed by processingcircuitry 804, enhanced communication requirement module 808 directsprocessing circuitry 804 to determine an enhanced communicationrequirement to use an LTE network to communicate data. When executed byprocessing circuitry 804, NFV requirement module 809 directs processingcircuitry 804 to determine one or more NFV requirements for an LTEnetwork. When executed by processing circuitry 804, NFV requirementmodule 809 also directs processing circuitry 804 to process the NASfiles received from the LTE network. When executed by processingcircuitry 804, NFV requirement module 809 also directs processingcircuitry 804 to determine if the LTE network can service the NFVrequirements.

The above descriptions and associated figures depict specificembodiments to teach those skilled in the art how to make and use thebest mode of the invention. The following claims specify the scope ofthe invention. Note that some aspects of the best mode may not fallwithin the scope of the invention as specified by the claims. Thoseskilled in the art will appreciate variations from these embodimentsthat fall within the scope of the invention and that the featuresdescribed above can be combined in various ways to form multipleembodiments. As a result, the invention is not limited to the specificembodiments described above, but only by the claims and theirequivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of operating a Mobility ManagementEntity (MME) to control Network Function Virtualization (NFV) datacommunications for User Equipment (UE), the method comprising: the MMEreceiving initial S1-MME signaling having UE Non-Access Stratum (NAS)data indicating an enhanced NFV requirement; the MME selecting a datanetwork element to serve the UE with the data communications based onthe enhanced NFV requirement responsive to the initial S1-MME signaling;the MME transferring response S1-MME signaling having MME NAS data forthe UE acknowledging the enhanced NFV requirement; and the MMEtransferring network signaling directing the data network element toserve the UE with the data communications based on the enhanced NFVrequirement.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the data network elementcomprises a wireless access point that wirelessly exchanges user datawith the UE.
 3. The method of claim 1 wherein the data network elementcomprises a data network gateway that exchanges user data for the UE. 4.The method of claim 1 wherein the data network element comprises an NFVserver that exchanges user data for the UE.
 5. The method of claim 1wherein the data network element comprises an NFV memory that storesuser data for the UE.
 6. The method of claim 1 wherein the data networkelement comprises an NFV data center that exchanges user data for theUE.
 7. The method of claim 1 wherein the MME transferring the networksignaling comprises the MME transferring the response S1-MME signalingto a wireless access point directing the wireless access point to servethe UE with the data communications based on the enhanced NFVrequirement.
 8. The method of claim 1 wherein the MME transferring thenetwork signaling comprises the MME transferring S5 signaling to a datagateway directing the data gateway to serve the UE with the datacommunications based on the enhanced NFV requirement.
 9. The method ofclaim 1 further comprising the MME selecting an NFV time-slice to servethe UE with the data communications based on the enhanced NFVrequirement responsive to the initial S1-MME signaling and wherein theMME transferring the network signaling comprises the MME transferringthe network signaling directing the data network element to serve the UEduring the NFV time-slice.
 10. The method of claim 1 further comprisingthe MME selecting a radio frequency to serve the UE with the datacommunications based on the enhanced NFV requirement responsive to theinitial S1-MME signaling and wherein the MME transferring the networksignaling comprises the MME transferring the network signaling directingthe data network element to serve the UE over the radio frequency.
 11. AMobility Management Entity (MME) to control Network FunctionVirtualization (NFV) data communications for User Equipment (UE), theMME comprising: NFV Input/Output (I/O) ports configured to receiveinitial S1-MME signaling having UE Non-Access Stratum (NAS) dataindicating an enhanced NFV requirement; NFV circuitry configured toselect a data network element to serve the UE with the datacommunications based on the enhanced NFV requirement responsive to theinitial S1-MME signaling; the NFV I/O ports configured to transferresponse S1-MME signaling having MME NAS data for the UE acknowledgingthe enhanced NFV requirement; and the NFV I/O ports configured totransfer network signaling directing the data network element to servethe UE with the data communications based on the enhanced NFVrequirement.
 12. The MME of claim 11 wherein the data network elementcomprises a wireless access point that wirelessly exchanges user datawith the UE.
 13. The MME of claim 11 wherein the data network elementcomprises a data network gateway that exchanges user data for the UE.14. The MME of claim 11 wherein the data network element comprises anNFV server that exchanges user data for the UE.
 15. The MME of claim 11wherein the data network element comprises an NFV memory that storesuser data for the UE.
 16. The MME of claim 11 wherein the data networkelement comprises an NFV data center that exchanges user data for theUE.
 17. The MME of claim 11 wherein the NFV I/O ports are configured totransfer the network signaling by transferring the response S1-MMEsignaling to a wireless access point directing the wireless access pointto serve the UE with the data communications based on the enhanced NFVrequirement.
 18. The MME of claim 11 wherein the NFV I/O ports areconfigured to transfer the network signaling by transferring S5signaling to a data gateway directing the data gateway to serve the UEwith the data communications based on the enhanced NFV requirement. 19.The MME of claim 11 further comprising: the NFV circuitry configured toselect an NFV time-slice to serve the UE with the data communicationsbased on the enhanced NFV requirement responsive to the initial S1-MMEsignaling: the NFV I/O ports configured to transfer the networksignaling directing the data network element to serve the UE during theNFV time-slice.
 20. The MME of claim 11 further comprising: the NFVcircuitry configured to select a radio frequency to serve the UE withthe data communications based on the enhanced NFV requirement responsiveto the initial S1-MME signaling; and the NFV I/O ports configured totransfer the network signaling directing the data network element toserve the UE over the radio frequency.